Hey everyone,

I wanted to kick off a discussion about Bitcoin mining by sharing my journey so far. While my operation isn’t massive, it’s also not small—somewhere in the middle. Hopefully, my experience resonates with others or sparks some good conversations.

The Beginning: A Miner in a Bakery Basement

My mining adventure began in August 2023 when I impulsively bought an S19J Pro+ from a friend who ran a bakery in London. The miner had been sitting, unused, in the shop’s basement (why it was there, I still have no idea). I paid £2,500—probably overpaying—but I didn’t care. I was excited about the idea of generating BTC passively and tinkering with the machine.

Big mistake: I just left it in my bedroom, half forgetting about it. Between sky-high electricity costs, unbearable noise, and heat, it was not possible to run at home. After six months of collecting dust, I finally found a hosting provider in the US in February 2024. Shipping the miner across the ocean was a leap of faith, but to my relief, the operation went smoothly, and uptime was excellent. Would have of course been better if I just found these people 6 months earlier, and would have started mining at lower difficulty, etc.

Scaling Up: From the US to the UAE

By March 2024, I discovered a hosting provider in the UAE offering better rates. Once again, I took a risk, buying 2* S21s from them. Things went well, so I scaled up quickly, reaching seven S21s within a month. Along the way, I relocated my S19J Pro+ from the US to Mexico after hosting costs became unsustainable.
My strategy was simple: accumulate as much BTC as possible without selling any to cover operating expenses. My salary paid the electricity bills, and I viewed mining as a long-term bet on Bitcoin’s future value. At the time, I was a bit naïve about how complex and unpredictable the industry could be.

The Reality Check: When Things Go Wrong

By late 2024, I began facing the very issues I had heard countless warnings about. Some of my ASICs started breaking down much sooner than expected, with two S21s needing to be shipped to Bitmain for repairs—then another, and another. Recently, one of my miners, still under warranty, was inexplicably rejected for repair. For those unfamiliar, Bitmain’s warranty process is like playing a lottery: if you’re lucky, repairs and return shipping are free; if not, you’re stuck paying for both the repairs and shipping. Unfortunately, I learned of the rejection only after I had already shipped two more S21s, leaving me bracing for a potential $600 repair bill per miner.

It raises the obvious question: what’s the point of a manufacturer’s warranty if they don’t consistently honor it? Many industry insiders I’ve spoken to have echoed similar frustrations with Bitmain’s lack of transparency and reliability, describing their practices as notoriously unpredictable and opaque.

This brings me to my first major realization:

1.   Trust your hosting provider: If they don’t know what they’re doing, repairs and downtime can get very expensive, very quickly.

In December 2024, I decided to double down on mining. I sold my accumulated BTC, added some of my existing holdings, and purchased nine S21 Pros, which I placed with a hosting provider in Scandinavia. Despite the growing pains, I was still convinced that mining could work as a long-term strategy.

Lessons Learned: Autonomy Matters

One major frustration is the lack of control. When you rely on hosting providers, you lose visibility into the day-to-day operations. Machines go offline, repairs take longer than expected, and you’re left in the dark about what’s really happening. For example, every time a miner goes down, it drags out your ROI period and reduces your earning capacity.

My second big takeaway is this:

2. Control your operations if possible: If you can manage your miners directly, you’ll avoid the uncertainty of relying on third parties.

Current Fleet and Ongoing Challenges

As of now, my fleet consists of:
•   1 x S19J Pro+ (120T)
•   7 x S21 (200T)
•   9 x S21 Pro (6 x 245T, 3 x 234T)

Overall, I’m cautiously optimistic. My strategy hinges on the belief that BTC will appreciate in value over the next few years, but I can’t help but wonder: Was I better off just holding Bitcoin instead of mining? Will my ASICs gain value in a bull market?

Final Thoughts

For those considering hosted mining, it’s a great way to enter the space without massive upfront infrastructure costs. But trust in your provider is key—they’re essentially in the driver’s seat.
I’d love to hear from others in the community. Are you self-mining or using hosting? Have you faced similar issues with providers or Bitmain? Let’s discuss the challenges, strategies, and outlook for mining at all scales.

Thanks for reading!

I have had not the best experience with the S21s. My fleet right now is 10x Antminer S21 (200T) which has been running since March 2024. My hosting provider has had to manage 6x warranty repairs since then for me. Over $1,200 on shipping! Not happy. Glad to hear I am not the only one.

Hi! New member here.

As the title suggests, I am a relatively new miner, having breifly dabbled with GPU mining back in 2016 but nothing else. I live in a country with prohibitively expensive electricity, and despite this, I purchased a brand new S19J Pro+ late last year as an investment.

Recently, I found out about what co-location was, and subsequently sent this rig to a data centre willing to host my miner after it was metaphorically collecting dust in my bedroom for around 6 months.

All seems to be going well with the rig, and decided I had larger appetite for scaling this operation, and spoke with some other DCs with cheaper power/better deals. The D/C has ordered two S21s on my behalf to be co-located, and I am very excited.

What are some things I need to know before scaling this further, as it seems very simple to just order and bolt-on more miners as time goes by? What is the uplift of holding mined BTC vs selling revenues for fiat as and when you are paid out? Of course price dependent but what is a good strategy that is generally considered sensible.

Would appreciate any insight, past experience, or resources you can share.

Thanks!